Sports
Juan Soto Free Agency Watch: Which MLB Teams Are Best Fit?
Oct 29, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto (22) doubles during the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game four of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Juan Soto’s sixth full big league season ended at 11:51 PM Wednesday night, when the New York Yankees were eliminated from the World Series with a 7-6 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the Fall Classic.
The real intrigue started just nine minutes later.
Soto’s free agency — the most anticipated foray into the open market since Alex Rodriguez 24 years ago — officially began at midnight Thursday. When it ends is anybody’s guess, since Soto’s agent, Scott Boras, has never met a free agency he didn’t enjoy dragging out.
But eventually, a team is going to write a very large check (it’s going to start with “600,” or maybe “700”) and land itself a generational talent who has a chance to not only make the Hall of Fame but end his career as one of the best players ever.
Soto, who turned 26 on Oct. 25, ranks among the top-25 hitters all-time through age 25 in home runs (201, tied for seventh with Albert Pujols and Mike Trout), WAR (17th at 36.4, per Baseball Reference), on-base percentage (20th at .421) and OPS+ (23rd at 160).
Of course, we don’t need to sit here and fill up one of Boras’ infamous binders for him. You know how good Juan Soto has been and how good he could be for the duration of his next contract. But who will win the Soto sweepstakes and get his services for the next 10 years or longer? Here’s our guess, ranked from most likely to least likely with a dark horse at the end.
NEW YORK YANKEES
The Yankees — who went 82-80 without Soto in 2023 — might need Soto more than anyone else. Sure, they could take the money Soto will require and dole it out to numerous other players who could shore up a top-heavy team, but do you trust Brian Cashman — the architect of this top-heavy team — to find the right secondary pieces? Owner Hal Steinbrenner is the polar opposite of his dad in almost every way, but he knows gate attractions and has paid to keep Aaron Judge and to lure Gerrit Cole. Now will he spend almost as much on Soto as he did on Judge and Cole?
NEW YORK METS
Steve Cohen is the owner of the New York Mets. credits: Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire | source: AP Might this finally be the Big Apple bidding war we’ve all been waiting for? Steve Cohen has the bucks and the gumption to go toe-to-toe with Steinbrenner and just watched his fun, feisty, and sum-is-better-than-the-parts team push the Dodgers to six games in the NLCS. Their right fielders hit just .258 with 14 homers, 67 RBIs and a .709 OPS this season, which means Soto would be a massive offensive upgrade. And what if Soto didn’t replace Pete Alonso, the free agent first baseman, but just slotted into the lineup ahead of him?
LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Oct 30, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts (30) celebrates after winning the 2024 MLB World Series against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Sure, the newly crowned World Series champions don’t NEED Soto. But the Dodgers are the modern version of the George Steinbrenner-era Yankees, who would just go get the best players on the market because they could. Shohei Ohtani’s deferred contract makes anything possible, including Soto signing for a good $600 million in real-time money, moving to left field and forming a nightmarish top four as the Dodgers try to build a dynasty.
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Jun 27, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (3) reacts after running to first against the Miami Marlins in the ninth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports Yeah, Bryce Harper is due more than $181 million through 2031. But owner John Middleton is one of the few owners who runs his team like a fan, and general manager Dave Dombrowski has been a go-for-it executive for four decades. You can bet they’ve already imagined Soto and Harper batting back-to-back and taking aim at Citizen Bank Park’s right field porch.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Aug 2, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) follows through on an RBI single against the New York Yankees during the first inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports For a day or so last fall, it looked like the Blue Jays were getting Ohtani. Alas, flight trackers are not always accurate, and Toronto finished in last place in the AL East, which surely increased the heat on the front office duo of Mark Shapiro — especially with homegrown superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on the verge of free agency.
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
Oct 1, 2024; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey speaks with the media after an introductory press conference at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images One of these years the Giants will land a big-time free agent… right? Soto’s left-handed swing and impeccable plate discipline would make him a worthy McCovey Cove-splashing successor to Barry Bonds, but there’s no doubt the Giants would have to be the highest bidder to lure Soto back to the west coast with a team that’s had one winning season in the last eight years.
SAN DIEGO PADRES
Juan Soto reacts after being hit by a foul ball while batting during the seventh inning credits: Gregory Bull | source: AP Soto and late owner Peter Seidler were reportedly closing in on a deal before Seidler’s illness. It’s hard to imagine the Padres revisiting Soto now that he’ll surely cost a couple hundred million more, but never underestimate the determination of perpetually all-in general manager A.J. Preller.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Juan Soto started his career with the Washington Nationals. source: Getty Images Here’s the most intriguing dark horse of all.
With the Lerner family preparing to sell the team, the Nationals traded Soto to the Padres shortly after he turned down a 15-year, $440-million offer in 2022. But the Lerners pulled the team off the market, which means a reunion can’t be ruled out. The tandem of general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez remain fond of Soto, as does a fan base that welcomed him back with a standing ovation when the Yankees visited Washington D.C. in August. Might Soto pull a LeBron James, go back to where it all started and cement himself as the best player in franchise history?
Sports
Report: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope joining 76ers after Grizzlies buyout
Feb 11, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (3) in the second quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is set to reunite with former teammate LeBron James after agreeing to a buyout with the Memphis Grizzlies and planning to sign a one-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, ESPN reported on Saturday.
Caldwell-Pope, 33, who played with James on the 2020 NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, must clear waivers before signing with Philadelphia.
Per the report, the Grizzlies and Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul — Caldwell-Pope’s agent — finalized the buyout on Saturday, a day after Sixers agreed to sign James to a two-year, $8 million deal.
Caldwell-Pope, who also won an NBA title with the Denver Nuggets in 2023, missed the last 31 games of the 2025-26 season after surgery to fix a misalignment on his right pinkie finger. He finished with averages of 8.4 points, 2.7 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 21.3 minutes in 51 games.
A 13-year veteran selected eighth overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 2013 NBA Draft, Caldwell-Pope has averaged 11.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 29.2 minutes with the Pistons, Lakers, Washington Wizards, Nuggets, Orlando Magic and Grizzlies in 963 games (784 starts).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Trey McBride says Cardinals fans not so bad after all
Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride speaks to the press during training camp at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on July 25, 2026. Arizona tight end Trey McBride made some waves with criticism of the Cardinals’ fan base earlier this offseason. On Saturday, he attempted to walk back some of his earlier remarks following training camp practice.
In a June appearance on Will Compton and Taylor Lewan’s podcast “Bussin’ with the Boys,” McBride noted that a significant portion of Arizona’s population is transplants, and he criticized the Cardinals’ fan base for being too focused on other teams.
“Living in Arizona, no one’s from Arizona,” McBride had said. “Everyone has kinda moved in from another state, so they’re all fans of their own teams, so now you have the Arizona that sits there and there’s no Arizona fans in Arizona.
“So, it’s a tough deal. Hopefully, we start winning some games and we can bring some of those fans back.”
Saturday, possibly because of some backlash, McBride was singing a different tune.
“Yeah, I probably shouldn’t have said that,” McBride said. “It came out wrong, and obviously the fanbase is great. We have a tremendous fanbase. Arizona’s been here, loyal fans to all the sports teams here, and we’re very lucky to have a lot of these guys, and we’re going to have a great season.
“I love it here in Arizona, and I hope they love me too, but it’s a special place. The fans are great, and I’m excited for this year to give them something to be proud of.”
In 2025, McBride signed what was the richest deal for a tight end in NFL history, re-signing with the Cardinals for four years and $76 million.
He backed that figure up last fall, posting career highs with 126 receptions for 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns, leading the Cardinals in each category while earning his second straight Pro Bowl berth and being named first-team All-Pro.
A second-round draft pick in 2022, the 26-year-old has exceeded 1,000 yards receiving in each of the last two seasons.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Ty France drives in 3 as Padres sustain Marlins losing streak
Jul 25, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; San Diego Padres first baseman Ty France (25) hits a two-run single against the Miami Marlins during the third inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Ty France drove in three runs to help the visiting San Diego Padres hand the Miami Marlins their franchise-record tying 11th straight loss, 7-2, in the middle game of their three-game series on Saturday.
The Marlins have dropped 11 in a row three other times in team history, most recently in June of 2011.
Jackson Merrill had two doubles, a single and scored two runs, and Jake Cronenworth had a single, two walks, an RBI and two runs scored for the Padres, who improved to 4-5 coming out of the All-Star break.
Randy Vasquez was used as an opener for San Diego and went 2 2/3 innings, allowing one run and one hit with no strikeouts and two walks.
JP Sears (3-3), who was originally scheduled to start, followed with 3 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win.
Esteury Ruiz had two hits and scored twice for Miami.
Marlins right-hander Eury Perez (5-8) went seven innings, allowing three runs and seven hits. He struck out two and walked one on a season-high 104 pitches.
Perez walked Cronenworth with two outs in the third. Manny Machado followed with a check-swing double just inside the right-field line, putting runners on second and third. France then lined a two-run single to left, scoring both runners for a 2-0 lead.
Ruiz was hit by a pitch to start the bottom half of the third and he took third on a single by Jakob Marsee. Otto Lopez followed with a sacrifice fly to right to cut it to 2-1.
Merrill went the other way for a double to start the seventh, moved to third on a flyout and scored on a sacrifice fly by Gavin Sheets to extend the lead to 3-1.
Cronenworth walked again to start the eighth and immediately stole second off left-hander Dax Fulton. France stepped to the plate with one out and grounded an RBI single up the middle to make it 4-1.
The Padres loaded the bases later in the inning off Fulton and pinch-hitter Jase Bowen lined the first pitch he saw into right field for a two-run single, extending the lead to 6-1.
Kyle Stowers delivered an RBI single in the eighth to cut it to 6-2, but Lopez was thrown out going from first to third for the second out.
San Diego got the run back in the ninth on an RBI single by Cronenworth to make it 7-2.
–Field Level Media
Report: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope joining 76ers after Grizzlies buyout
Trey McBride says Cardinals fans not so bad after all
